Breaking News

Upper Lochsa opponents prepare for fight this fall

June 26, 2009, 3:24 pm

Opposing sides of the controversial Upper Lochsa Land Exchange are organizing themselves for this fall when the proposed exchange’s administrative process will again pick up steam.

Western Pacific Timber inhouse counsel Andrew Hawes said his company is in the midst of appraising the lands involved in the exchange as part of the draft Environmental Impact Statement, expected to be released by the Forest Service sometime this fall. A 45-day public comment period will follow.

The proposed Upper Lochsa Land Exchange would swap 28,000 acres of managed forest land in the Clearwater National Forest, including parts of northern Latah County and eastern Clearwater County, for about 40,000 acres of logged-over land owned by Western Pacific Timber Co. in the upper reaches of the Lochsa region in northeast Idaho.

Western Pacific would potentially use the newly acquired land as tree farms for logging.

Approximately 4,000 acres are targeted for exchange in Latah County with additional lands targeted outside of Elk River in Clearwater County.

Meanwhile, Potlatch area resident Kathy Judson has emerged as a the leader of local opposition to the exchange. She and other Latah County residents formed the Friends of the Palouse Ranger District in early-May after specifics of the exchange began to emerge in public throughout the spring.

Her group is working to kick off a public relations campaign starting this weekend in Tensed and Elk River to in opposition to the proposal. They plan to continue the their efforts throughout the summer with various media events as well as letter writing campaigns to politicians and Forest service personnel as the fall draws closer.

Check DNews.com or the Saturday edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News for more on this story.